Leaving for the Season

Q: Thanks for last week’s written blog about preparing my Cape Cod home for the off season. If I leave Provincetown for the entire winter, are there any additional steps I need to take?

A: The first step should always be to give your property one last thorough cleaning. This eliminates potential mold and mildew that may have grown over the summer and fall months with the high humidity. It also gets rid of food particles that rodents and the like can sniff out.

Take crisp white sheets and cover your furniture and electrical components like your tv and stereo. This prevents dust from getting on the upholstery or inside televisions, video players, computers and clocks. These days you may have an Ipod station. If you leave it, be sure to unplug it.

Once you have identified a date that you’ll be leaving, for some it will be right after New Years, call a plumber and set an appointment to drain your water and shut it off as we briefly discussed last week. This will eliminate the threat of frozen pipes and damage. Be sure to leave your taps open both in the kitchen and bathroom. This lets extra water escape.

If you do leave your interior water on, at least make sure the water source to your exterior spigots is turned off and your spigots left open. As mentioned last week, make sure your temperature is kept at least 55 degrees or preferably 60 degrees. If you are leaving, it is best to completely shut your house down.

With this quick checklist complete, you can close the door to your vacation home and on what was hopefully a fun filled and relaxing summer and fall here on Cape Cod.